Terrorism News: Star Wars Actor Warns Teens Will Join ISIS Without Diversity In Media

Minorities discouraged by negative portrayals and a lack of representation on television may be driven to accept propaganda put forth by jihadists such as the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, according to U.K. actor Riz Ahmed. Ahmed, famous for roles in Academy Award-nominated titles such as last year's "Star Wars Rogue One" and 2014's "Nightcrawler," told the U.K.'s parliament during an annual diversity report Thursday that a perceived rejection of minority communities by mainstream media has led some to "switch off and retreat to fringe narratives" supported by jihadist groups like ISIS that exploit dissatisfied youth around the world.

Around 850 people from the U.K. alone have reportedly joined the jihadists' ranks in Iraq and Syria along with tens of thousands of other foreigners from across the globe. “If we fail to represent, we are in danger of losing people to extremism,” Ahmed said, according to the Guardian. “In the mind of the ISIS recruit, he’s the next James Bond, right? Have you seen some of those ISIS propaganda videos, they are cut like action movies. Where is the counter narrative? Where are we telling these kids they can be heroes in our stories?"

Ahmed, who is a U.K. citizen of Pakistani origin and Muslim, has explored his ethnicity and religion in past roles such as last year's HBO Miniseries "The Night Of" in which he played a New York University student facing media prejudice during a murder trial and 2010 dark comedy film "Four Lions" in which he satirically portrayed a wannabe jihadist attempting to conduct a terror attack in the U.K.

Ahmed criticized the U.K.'s portrayal of minorities and said he had to go the U.S. in order to get parts in which he was not typecast for his race or religion. He recalled hearing his parents shout "Asian!" while watching television growing up and pausing his video games just to catch a glimpse of actors that looked like him, according to the Telegraph.

The 34-year-old actor has also touched on the subject of racial diversity in his career in hip hop, a genre that established a platform to express the struggles of the black Muslim community through artists such as Nas, Mos Def and the Wu-Tang Clan. Last year, Ahmed released "Englistan" that discussed the multicultural scenery of the U.K.